


1:30

by xswestallen



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Episode: s04e11 The Elongated Knight Rises, F/M, Love, POV Third Person Omniscient, Prison
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-29
Updated: 2018-01-29
Packaged: 2019-03-10 23:00:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13511538
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xswestallen/pseuds/xswestallen
Summary: Barry and Iris's thoughts when she comes to visit him in prison.





	1:30

**Author's Note:**

> I don't really write angst, so this might be shit. The prison visit scenes were so tragically beautiful that I had to at least try and write this.

Prison was a special kind of torture for Barry Allen. For a speedster, days seem like weeks, hours seem like days, and seconds seem like hours. Serving his time was like waiting for infinity to end. The dark and dingy atmosphere, crude inmates, and mind numbing boredom were not as bad as the taunting thoughts of all he would be doing on the outside.

He would be with Iris right now. He'd make her breakfast in the morning and they'd watch TV together before heading to Star Labs. With the team, they would figure out what Devoe is planning and stop any other threats that come their way in the meantime. Barry missed Cisco's jokes, Caitlin's comforting words, Joe's wisdom, Harry's insight, and even Ralph's douchebaggery. When the day was over he'd go home with Iris. He would hold her in his arms. He would feel her smooth skin, run his hands through her dark hair, and kiss her soft lips. They would lay in bed together, warm wrapped up in each other's arms. Instead, Barry was laying alone on a paper thin prison mattress in a cold cell.

But, that was too painful to dwell on. Barry was trying to make the best of his situation, confident that it would be over soon. Objectively sad as it was to admit, being in prison made Barry feel connected to his father. Barry was locked in the very same cell Henry had spent years in. Barry could feel his dad's presence and he drew strength from it.

The first time Iris came to visit Barry, she was beside herself. It broke her heart to see the kindest person she knows in a place meant for the worst of humanity. Joe was also disturbed when he first visited. But it was easy for Barry to get passed the location and the inch of glass between them. He visited his dad in prison for years. The conditions of visitor interaction that most people found isolating were familiar, even comfortable, to Barry. Some of his best memories talking to his dad took place on either sides of the glass.

Iris came to visit everyday at 1:30. Each day felt simultaneously easier and harder than the last. She soon adjusted to seeing Barry in his prison jumpsuit and hearing his voice through the phone. After the first month of Barry's sentence, the prison lost it's aura of desolate suffering. Iris felt giddy walking through the prison entrance. Barry was able to make the worst environments feel beautiful to her. But each day, the pain of knowing that her innocent husband was wasting away in Iron Heights ate away at Iris' soul. It served as the greatest motivation to catch the Devoes.

Not for the first time in her life, Iris was impressed by Barry's spirit. He still found a way to smile, make jokes, and be the same adorable nerd he was before being framed for murder. It might have hurt him in the judge's eyes during the trial, but it was now Iris' source of strength. She assumed he was being strong for her, and he was. He was also being strong for himself. Barry knew he couldn't wallow in self pity if he wanted to survive. The agony of not being with Iris every moment of everyday had to be suppressed by the joy of still being able to see her everyday. 

Every night Barry drifted off to sleep dreaming Iris. In the morning, he'd fear her comfort was just an exaggeration of his imagination. Thankfully, everyday at 1:30 proved his dreams to be true. Iris' encouragement kept Barry going. Her presence was therapeutic. She reminded him at he was Barry Allen, not just inmate number 3562. He fought against the monotony of prison life and dehumanizing irrelevance the guards treated the inmates with. The prison had turned several of his fellow inmates into hallowed out shells of the people they once were. Barry had to remember himself, for Iris. He had to still be her Barry.

Barry watched the clock all morning until, at long last, 1:30 finally arrived. Iris was right on time everyday. Barry teased that it was because she didn't have him holding her up and making her late anymore. The joke made him laugh, but it seemed to strike a nerve with Iris. It was clear to him that she was still grappling with the reality of not having him around.

Barry almost felt like he was the lucky one. He couldn't fathom going about his daily life in their home and Star Labs without Iris. The walls of the prison were not filled with the memories of the love they shared. Memories that would haunt Barry into a debilitating depression if he were the one having to face them without his partner beside him. But she was stronger than him. Or, he reasoned, more likely, she was being strong for him.

The moment Barry laid eyes on Iris he would feel rejuvenated. His smile was so wide it made his eye crinkle. Any doubts of the team's ability to prove his innocence were erased from his mind. Barry felt like he was living instead of just being alive. Talking to Iris has been Barry's favorite thing to do for as long as he's known her. So for the duration of her visits, Barry was happy. He didn't care about the guard waiting to escort him back to his cell in a few minutes. He was home when she was there.

Unfortunately, each visit had to end at some point.Saying goodbye never got easier. All the euphoria of seeing Iris faded into a melancholy ache. He was tempted everyday to phase through the wall, take Iris' hand, and go home with her. She always walked backwards out of the visiting area, so she could look at Barry for as long as possible. He watched her go as the guard walked him in the opposite direction.

It was physically painful for both of them. Iris' composure was gone the moment Barry was. She dreaded going home. If the warden would let her, Iris would gladly share Barry's cell. Barry felt like he'd been punched in the gut each time he reentered the prison hall. He'd been plucked out of his happy little bubble that was Iris and dumped back into the harsh reality that was life in prison.

23 hours, 59 minutes till he would get to see her again.


End file.
